LOS ANGELES – Ohio State lost the chance at another Final Four on Saturday. In the Buckeyes' furious comeback that fell short, the Buckeyes were reminded once again what they've found in LaQuinton Ross.

In 2012, Deshaun Thomas' big NCAA Tournament foretold the offensive force he would become for the Buckeyes this season.

In 2013, what Ross has done in the last three games should leave the same clues about next year.

Ross scored 17, 17 and 19 points in the Buckeyes' last three games, two last-second wins and a four-point loss. He had scored that many points in just one previous game, a 22-point effort against Northern Kentucky in December.

That was a nonconference blowout. These were games with the season on the line. When it got tight when it mattered most in March, Ohio State looked to the sophomore.

Once the Buckeyes got down 20 with 12 minutes left, Ross scored 13 of Ohio State's last 33 points. Thomas had eight, and Aaron Craft and Shannon Scott each had six.

And the Buckeyes will look to Ross even more when he's a junior.

“Anytime Coach Matta gave me a chance to prove what I can do, I was able to go out and do it,” Ross said in the locker room after Saturday night's loss to Wichita State in the West Region final. “At the end of the day, I think he gained trust in me and I think all my teammates did, too.”

Thomas has a year of eligibility left, but it's smart for Ohio State fans to assume he's gone, just like Evan Turner was after 2010 and Jared Sullinger was gone after last season. Ross has that option, too, if he wants to take it, but it's probably safe to assume he'll be back to take advantage of the chance to improve his NBA stock by emerging as the No. 1 offensive option for the 2013-14 Buckeyes.

“It's a process for him,” Thad Matta said, “but I think he got a taste of what it takes, and I expect him to have a phenomenal off-season. I'm very, very excited about the progress he made, and he's become engaged with all the little things and that to me is what has made him play at the level he's been playing at.”

Matta is excited by the chance to have something else back that he's not used to – seniors.

Backup center Evan Ravenel was the only senior on this team and the only expected loss other than Thomas. That means Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith will be back as seniors. They'd serve as the second-most reliable senior centerpieces in the Matta era, behind only David Lighty, Jon Diebler and Dallas Lauderdale from 2011.

“I think we can have a heck of a basketball team next year,” Matta said. “We're finally going to have more than one senior, which we haven't had for a couple years.”

Craft running the show at point guard for the fourth straight year, and Ross in Thomas' role as the inside-outside power forward, will take two of the starting roles. Smith and juniors Shannon Scott and Sam Thompson will take up the two other starting spots and the sixth man role, with Thompson a candidate for a breakout season.

The Buckeyes will then have to decide how often they will go small with all five of those players on the court, and how much they'll be able to rely on starting center Amir Williams, who will be a junior, and backup big man Trey McDonald, who hasn't been used much in his first two years.

Williams had brief flashes of energy against both Arizona and Wichita State, blocking four shots and grabbing three rebounds in 17 minutes Saturday, but it would help the offense to get something out of that position. With scholarships available, might the Buckeyes even think about bringing in a junior college big man to help?

Because the recruiting class doesn't include a big guy. Marc Loving, the 6-foot-8 Mr. Basketball from Toledo, is a long scorer more like Thomas or Ross and ranked as the No. 63 prospect in his class by Rivals.com. Kameron Williams, a 6-2 guard from from Baltimore, the No. 83 prospect, could provide backcourt points, as may Amedeo Della Valle, the only freshman on the team this year.

“I've never been part of a team that came together quite like this one has,” Craft said in the moments after the season ended. “We lose a great guy in Rav, but we're fortunate in that the majority are back.”

Ohio State's LaQuinton RossOhio State's LaQuinton Ross on the Buckeyes' rough first 30 minutes in their Elite Eight loss to Wichita State on March 30, 2013.

In Ross, who was averaging 16.5 minutes and 7.5 points per game when the tournament began, then averaged 20.3 minutes and 15 points in four tourney games, they should have a guy back that everyone has only really seen for the past couple weeks.

“I never lost confidence in myself just being a basketball player. I always knew I could make shots and I could take guys and I could do this,” Ross said. “I think I can get a lot better. Just going in the gym and working on my game, I think I've got all the skills, all the tools, to do that. I just need to get in the gym and work on it.”

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